The World T20 which is scheduled to take place in India in October-November might move to UAE if the COVID-19 situation in the country doesn’t get better. But the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) hasn’t given up on the hopes of hosting the tournament in the country.
“It’s too early to say what will happen. But the contingency plan is that it would go to UAE with the hosting rights staying with BCCI,” Dhiraj Malhotra, GM, BCCI and the tournament director of the World Cup said.
The board had shortlisted Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Dharamsala, Ahmedabad and Lucknow as the venues for the mega event before the rise in cases in India.
The World T20 will be a 16-team tournament where the sides would have to announce the squads a month prior to the start of it. The UAE has four grounds where the tournament can be held. Last year, UAE also hosted the Indian Premier league successfully.
West Indies are the defending champions of the World T20 who lifted the trophy back in 2016 after beating England in the final. The Caribbean side has been crowned the champions twice.
India have won the T20 World Cup in 2007 under MS Dhoni’s captaincy while making it to the final of 2014 edition where they lost to Sri Lanka in the title clash.